00 Ski Doo Bombardier Formula 3 800 Triple Headlight D9 on 2040-parts.com

The no-show cars: a reader rant on mad concepts

Instigated by Harley Earl at General Motors in the late 30s with the quaintly named Buick Y-Job, show cars, or concept cars, were presented to an excited public eager for new things. As the world recovered from a depression and then a war, these vehicles pointed to a better future that many people believed in, including the people who produced them. And, although many of the concept cars of the 50s, with their Jetsons plexiglass roofs and notional nuclear powered engines seem ludicrous now, in their time they weren’t that cynical.

100% TobeUs: 100 designers for 100 new toy cars

Perturbed to see his children lost interest in their toys after just a few hours, Italian designer Matteo Ragni conceived a plan to create a toy with which they could form an emotional attachment. No simple feat, as parents will testify. After crafting simple cars from fragrant cedar wood, he saw his children's reactions and invited 99 other international designers to get involved.

Sync adds audible navigation, information services

Ford Motor Co. and Microsoft Corp. are adding navigation and information features to their Sync system in an effort to stay ahead of rivals' telematics offerings.